Megaphono is a gem among Canada's festivals

While Ottawa may be Canada’s capital, it has a relatively small music scene. Bartlett noticed that the city often had a lot of great artists but these artists would eventually move to Toronto or Montreal to build a career due to the lack of industry support in their hometown. Megaphono was created to bring this industry support to the artists, inviting label managers and owners, festival founders, booking agents, publishers and independent music specialists from across the world.

Most of the acts on the line-up are designed to celebrate Ottawa-Gatineau and Eastern Ontario music. Due to the festival’s ever-growing success, artists from Montreal and Toronto have also been added to the schedule. These participating artists are then given the chance to interact with the visitors, where they’ll gain insight into the industry and equip themselves with the skills, connections and knowledge to continue to pursue a career in music. It’s essentially a conference, but more chill.

The music kicks off properly on Thursday too. Megaphono’s aim in bringing Ottawa’s music scene back to life stems beyond their line-up, as they scatter artists among varying neighbourhoods each night to revitalise the city’s music venues. While smaller spaces play host to lesser-known acts, most of the venues have similar capacities, making for an intimate, authentic experience of Ottawa’s live scene. There’s also a Native North America showcase at the newly revamped National Arts Centre, featuring performances by veteran Indigenous songwriters from the Native North America Vol. 1 compilation. Performers include Duke Redbird (pictured above, photo by Colin Medley), Willie Thrasher and Linda Saddleback, Willy Mitchell, Leland Bell, and Eric Landry and legendary Abenaki filmmaker and songwriter Alanis Obomsawin.

The festival is also a big advocate of providing a safe, friendly environment for everyone. Attendees, performers, and event and venue staff are expected to act with respect for equity and inclusiveness, including but not limited to a zero tolerance for racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism. Their staff and volunteers are trained in bystander intervention to prevent sexual violence, which makes for an extremely welcoming environment throughout the weekend.

Around the festival

Each night centres around a different neighbourhood, which means venues are never more than a ten or fifteen minute walk from each other. It makes it easy to jump between the jam packed line-up and catch a decent handful of acts each night. The venues are hugely eclectic too, meaning you can be watching an acoustic-indie band in a church one minute, a rapper in a cafe the next and a singer-songwriter in a book store the minute after that. If you want to kill time between acts, a lot of the venues offer some other activities, like House of Targ’s extensive array of pinball machines.

What’s nice about the inner-city happenings of the festival means that it never feels overcrowded and you’ll often bump into artists and other delegates as you make your way around. Plus there’s plenty of options to grab a bite to eat or a cocktail as most of the venues are next to some of Ottawa’s main strips, packed full of cafes, restaurants and more.

The tourism thing

As Canada’s capital, there is so, so much to do in Ottawa. During Megaphono, the houses of parliament host a massive ice rink, where you can slip around amongst the Canadian experts. The houses of parliament themselves are pretty spectacular too and serve as a nice outing during the festival’s afternoon downtime. There are also a ton of museums to check out, including the Canadian Museum of Nature, the Canadian War Museum, the Canadian Museum of History, the Canada Science and Technology Museum and the National Gallery of Canada to name but a few.

Confederation Park also hosts Winterlude during the first three weeks of February, with a bunch of fun, free activities. The park is also decked out with impressive ice sculptures that are treated to coloured backing lights once the sun sets which is definitely worth checking out when you get a spare moment. As for coffee – because you’ll basically live on the stuff throughout the festival’s late nights – The Ministry of Coffee, Bread and Sons and Scone Witch are all Ottawa favourites. Pure Kitchen and The Green Door are also highly praised for their vegan menus, meaning your dietary requirements won’t make you go hungry. If you’re looking for something sweet, Suzy Q donuts is one of the most popular spots in town – just be prepared to queue for a good ten minutes or so (it’s worth it!)

Most of Megaphono’s happenings on Saturday afternoon take place around Wellington Street, with lots of vintage and charity shops to browse through. A few performances take place at Ottawa’s premiere record store – The Record Centre – that offers an extensive range of new and used vinyl. The perfect opportunity to shop while also checking out a local band.

Our pick of the festival

With a background in theatre and dance, Muzzy Legault creates jazz-infused hip-hop that is instantly infectious. Performing under the darkened backdrop of the 27 Club on a Friday night, she’s accompanied by a DJ for a set that brings together pop melodies and lustrous, unwavering vocals. As a self-described shy person, Legault does wonders on stage, with a playful attitude that gets most of the attendees pushing their hands in the air or swaying with their pals. It’s perhaps pushing through this extremely relatable stage anxiety that makes her set all the more engaging.

Describing themselves “like glitter-infused jelly on toast,” it’s hard not to fall for Sparklesaurus’ lushious dream-pop. The Ottawa four piece produce peppy, indie-inspired slow burners that find connection through their charming execution. 2016 EP Perennials feels like basking in the first rays of the year, packed full of polished, promising bangers that could alleviate almost any anxiety. Their set, taking place in a packed little pub, is euphorically upbeat as spacey synths filter through catchy, animated strums, pushing their hazy pop explosion to new heights.

Helena Deland’s soft indie-rock has been garnering attention across the world. The singer-songwriter has toured with the likes of Whitney and on Saturday night, she treats Megaphono to a red-lit performance at the historic St. Albans Church. Producing breezy, folk-inspired jams, this full band set gives weight to Deland’s introspective lyricism. There’s an exposed charm to her tracks, as she saunters through lonesome vocals and layered acoustic textures to bring tales of lost love and longing with a 60s-style flair.

There’s nothing better than a straight-up party band and Bonnie Doon (above, photo by Ming Wu) are here to do just that. Featuring tracks that lend themselves to the playful early days of the B52’s, the quartett are gloriously silly. Trashy percussion and riotous melodies guides sing-a-long anthems for the twenty-somethings of today, while a gorgeous drag queen acts as the evening’s back-up dancer. It’s a freeing, momentous set that throws the middle finger at those who take themselves too seriously.

Hosted by CBC Radio One’s Rosanna Deerchild, the Native North America Gathering celebrates the extraordinary storytelling and poignant songwriting from the Light in the Attic, Grammy-nominated, Native North America Vol. One compilation. Kicking off Willie Dunn’s haunting 1968 short film The Ballad of Crowfoot, the showcase also featured momentous performances from Duke Redbird, Willie Thrasher and Linda Saddleback, Willy Mitchell, Leland Bell, Eric Landry and legendary Abenaki filmmaker and songwriter Alanis Obomsawin.

Half-way through the performance, Deerchild announces that Saskatchewan farmer Gerald Stanley had been found not guilty in the 2016 shooting death of Colten Boushie. Audience members cry, they scream of the shame of the outcome. There’s a moment of silence for Colten and his family, to reflect upon the repeated injustice the Indigenous communities face. The moment marks the importance of gatherings like this, where love and tentative hopefulness can thrive through song and storytelling and it’s more important than ever, that we listen.

Find out more at megaphono.tv